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The Stormborn
Most of the Stormborn's history is a combination of myth and legend. Their actual origins and how they came to dwell in the mountains is unknown. It is known that the Stormborn were once a very powerful race and are quite ancient. The Highlands (Estcarp) is divided into regions called Marches. Each March is governed by a March Lord of Stormborn bloodline. Heredity alone does not decree a Marcher Lord's status. There is an arcane ritual that either confirms an heir apparent or chooses the next Marcher Lord. Even the High Lord himself must pass through this ritual, known as The Quickening, and be confirmed. Historically, due to its location and ties to the heart of Estcarp, Cymeria March has been the seat of the High Lords of Estcarp. See The Marches for details and location of each March. Stormborn collectively refers to several Highlander bloodlines. These bloodlines were most notable as being magic users, inheriting a native ability to manipulate and control - to varying extents - the natural elements of the world around them. The Stormborn settled in Estcarp long before other peoples gradually made their way into the mountains. They are the Old Race, so old, in fact, that their true origins have been forgotten. The age of the race, their innate ties to the land, and a quiet nobility have made them the hereditary rulers of Estcarp and the Highland peoples of the region. The Highlanders recognize the Stormborn as the equivalent of those considered nobility in the lowlands. Once the Stormborn were numerous with great powers and vastly more advanced technology. Remnants of this technology remains in some of the ancient keeps, but the majority of it no longer exists. Most of the Old Race with that knowledge took it with them during the Great Exodus. The rest has simply been lost to the mists of time. For a period of time after the Sundering, there were fewer births amongst the Stormborn. The children that were born carried less of the gift for the arcane arts. Even now, three hundred years later, the scope of their arcane powers has dwindled to some extent. Additionally, over the last five hundred years, more and more of the Stormborn have intermingled their blood with that of the Highlanders through marriage and offspring, thus further diluting the arcane powers of future generations. The Great Exodus This event occurred in what can be considered the pre-history of the Highlands. At this time Estcarp was populated only by the Stormborn and legend says their numbers were vast. They had reached the pinnacle of power and technological advancement and some sought rule and lands outside the borders of Estcarp. It is said that wars and greed so disgusted the more noble of the Stormborn, they combined their powers and opened a portal into another plane of existence. A shimmering White Road lay before them and, one by one, they passed through the Veil. Some of the powerful and honorable Stormborn refused to join the Great Exodus, believing their race could be redeemed and the Balance of Light restored. Over time, however, the loss of the majority of those with knowledge of the arcane and technology impacted the remaining Stormborn who were forced to resume a more primitive lifestyle. The Interregnum The Stormborn have, historically, been a benevolent and peaceful race; content with the share of power that the land granted to them. They are, however, humans and like all races of humans, there are good and bad seeded amongst them. More than a thousand years before the Sundering, there was period of time called the Interregnum where some of the Stormborn, driven by a lust for arcane power, wealth and rule, warred upon each other. Battles were fought with both sword and sorcery. This raw use of power had its backlash as nature responded to the onslaught. Storms raged, out of season blizzards blanketed the land...and the people suffered. This state of affairs continued for several generations until, physically depleted by their overuse of their arcane powers, the Stormborn began succumbing to a series of plagues. Legend says that the plagues were visited upon the Stormborn by the Great Mother in retribution for their abuses of power. Only the Stormborn bloodlines were affected, the Highlanders were seemingly immune to the plagues. Even the most powerful of the Tselitel' (healers) were unable to find a cure or heal the afflicted. This severely decimated the Stormborn and seemingly culled the corrupt bloodlines from the race. It also effectively put an end to the wars and struggles for power. The Era of Light At the end of the plagues, amidst a land and people horribly scarred by the wars of the Interrugnum, a Stormborn named Mathias Azarov came to power. He reunited the Stormborn and is credited with returning them to the Old Ways where The Quickening determines the release of arcane power and the right to rule. It was also under Mathias' rule that a new duty was conferred upon the High Lord of Estcarp...to maintain the Balance of Light in the land. Mathias Azarov also created the Cymerian High Guard. The Guard was formed as much to guard the Balance of Light as to guard the High Lord himself. Along with the elements of the Quickening, Mathias uncovered a way to instill a certain immunity to the High Lord's power in one individual. The one individual is the leader of the High Guard called the Ryndar. For many years, the Azarovs ruled from Cymeria March. During their time the memory of the Interregnum faded from the minds of the Highlanders, though never completely forgotten. The Rise of the Stormdanovich High Lord Valentin Azarov, the great great great grandson came to power approximately nine hundred years before The Sundering. In the beginning, all seemed as it should be, but this deteriorated over time. He became cruel and seemingly maddened by his arcane gifts. In a valiant effort to stop Valentin's excesses, his younger brother, Matvei challenged the High Lord to a Duel Arcane, unheard of since the time of the Interregnum. The Duel Arcane is not fought with magical powers as the name suggests, it is fought with sword. The name derives from the fact that the winner takes the loser's power unto himself. Desperate and insane, High Lord Valentin attempted to have Matvei assassinated. He ordered his Ryndar to kill the younger man. The Ryndar refused and Valentin was forced to the duel. Matvei Azarov won the duel in the Temple of Ages and received the Quickening. As he ascended to the role of High Lord, Matvei took the surname of Stormdanovich, forever ending the line of Azarov. The Stormdanovich have held the position of High Lord and Marcher Lord of Cymeria for the last eight hundred years. The Sundering The Sundering was the next crisis for the Stormborn as an arcane race. When it occurred, several of the Stormborn, and almost all of the Marcher Lords were killed instantly. Others were killed as their arcane powers seemed to run amok recoiling in upon them. Still more died in the physical cataclysms caused by the churning and twisting of the lands. The High Lord survived the initial Sundering, but the ensuing chaos which ignited the land drove him mad. This in turn lent more power to the chaos as the natural elements reacted to and answered the High Lord's attempts to control his power and the surging energies of the Sundering. As the land ripped apart, so too did the High Lord's mind. It was only upon the assassinated of the High Lord by his Ryndar that the chaos began to subside. Present Day Along with the decline of their numbers from the Sundering, came the dilution of the pure Stormborn bloodlines. Again, this affected each succeeding generation, although there has been, in recent years a gradual resurgence of Stormborn. Any remaining Stormborn families closely guard their abilities and use them wisely and with care. They are widely scattered and most are not as powerful as they were in times past. Lifespan Those of Stormborn descent tend to be longer-lived than the overall average. They are by no means immortal nor do they live for thousands of years. It is the Stormborn's belief that they live longer because of their arcane ties to the land and that it sustains them. Death Considered an element of their magic, the Stormborn have another gift, the innate ability to know when it is time to leave this plain of existence. They are very long-lived and, providing they do not perish from illness or injury, the Stormborn, with the aid of a Tselitel', can choose to take The White Road, their term for crossing to another plane of existence...or death. It is unknown what truly happens as the bodies of those that have crossed no longer exist. Magic The Stormborn do have certain powers linked to the natural elements of the world around them. They consider these wondrous gifts as arcane, but wince to hear them called magic. To them, it is an offshoot of their ties and bonds to their land. There are two tenets of magic the remaining Stormborn hold dear and abide by. *Do as ye will an it harm none. *The Rule of Three which states: That which thee gives unto the universe, be it for good or ill, will turn back to you threefold. The magic of the Stormborn is based in nature and is an innate ability to manage or control the elements to some extent. They cannot alter the natural world around them, they cannot create objects from nothing. Their power is based in their will and each Stormborn's affinity to the natural world. They can, for example, use their gift to take a raindrop, enlarge it and use it for scrying, in the manner of a crystal globe. Some of the more powerful could summon weather phenomena briefly, such as storms, hence their designation as Stormborn. They cannot, however, manufacture storms from nothing. The weather conditions must contain the elements to form a storm. The Stormborn cannot wiggle their nose or wave their hand and call the power to themselves. They cannot easily use it for self-defense. They could call in a sudden fog providing the climatic elements were already in place for it and use it as a cover to slip away. It's possible they could even coalesce the fog into actual rain, however, it would dissipate as soon as the Stormborn was a distance away or the elements to allow rain faded, such as the humidity going down. In the distant past, many centuries before the Sundering, it is believed the Stormborn reached a level of arcane knowledge and power unrivaled in modern times. Inevitably, such power led to greed and abuse. The Stormborn can sense arcane elements and their nature. Those that are sensitive to magic are also at risk of being affected by the chaotic energies left from the Sundering, although their natural reticence in using their gifts and their innate sensitivity to the nature of the power protects them to some degree. Linked to their use of and belief in the arcane, as well as for practical purposes, almost all keeps belonging to the Stormborn are located under, over, or next to fast flowing water. The superstition is that evil cannot cross running water. This seems to be partly true as the dark creatures churned up by the Sundering do seem repulsed by fast flowing water. On the other hand, it does not stop the ultimate evil...those men and women who seek to do and cause harm to others. The Quickening The Quickening and how to activate it was discovered, or rediscovered, by High Lord Mathias Azarov after the Interregnum. The Quickening serves to confirm a man or woman's right to rule...either as a Marcher Lord or the High Lord. It also serves to hinder the flagrant use of the Stormborn's arcane abilities by inhibiting the full release of their arcane potential until they ascend to rule. The Quickening has maintained the balance of power for nearly a thousand years or slightly longer. The land chooses its rulers rather than it being purely a birthright. The Quickening is the rite that confirms a Marcher Lord and releases their full arcane potential. The Quickening of a new Marcher Lord or High Lord is a simple rite hedged about with ancient power and ritual. When an heir is born to a Marcher Lord, he or she, is brought to the Temple of Ages to be confirmed as heir apparent. When the current Marcher Lord or Lady dies or chooses the White Road, the heir must return to the temple to be granted his or her full powers. The confirmation is overseen by the reigning High Lord. The Heartstone and Temple of Ages Deep in the heartland of Estcarp, in the Cymerian March, is the Hold of Ages. This hold is a massive cavern that runs deep into the heart of Mt. Cymeria itself. A small hold has been constructed in front of the cavern. It serves to host a small guard and to provide rooms for those that have traveled for a Quickening. One enters the Temple of Ages via the hold and is escorted down the great central hall to a massive pair of guarded doors. These open onto the cavern itself. Upon entering the Temple, there is a small room where one must leave all weapons but their sword of state. From there, a wide passageway leads deeper into the mountain before widening into a massive cavern. The stone walls of the cavern glint with sparks of quartz crystal as it reflects the firelight from the light troughs. There is a naturally formed stone dais at the rear of the cavern. This is where the Throne of Ages is located. The throne itself is a magnificent quartz inlaid boulder that has been carved into shape. In front of it, situated like a table, is another magnificent boulder. This boulder is part of the cavern itself and cannot be shifted by any means. It is irregularly shaped and roughly resembles the outline of Estcarp. The flat surface of the Heartstone is inlaid with quartz crystal that represent the seven Marches. The crystal inlays are surround by tiny, shallow channels that represent that March's borders. Around the entire quartz inlay is another channel, the borders of Estcarp. Each March seems to glow faintly with the emblematic colors of that land. A wide, shallow stream bubbles up from an aquifer at the far left of the dais and flows past the dais to disappear beneath the fall wall. The Ritual Crossing the stream is the first test as superstition maintains evil cannot cross running water. In this cavern, superstition seems to hold truth, as some Stormborn with evil intent seem repulsed by the running water. Likewise, if a Marcher Lord is carrying the heir apparent, the child usually screams or cries when being taken across the stream if evil resides in its nature. The High Lord, or his representative if he is the candidate, takes a carved stone cup and fills it with water from the where the aquifer bubbles up at the left of the dais. This is poured into the channel that represents the border of the designated March or into the channel that represents the border of Estcarp if the one to be confirmed is the High Lord. The heir is then required to make a small cut in the palm of their hand and shed a few drops of blood into the border channel. The March will glow brighter and emit what appears to be lightning which briefly transfixes the heir. If the land rejects the Heir, the glow of light emitted from the crystals representing that March will dim and disappear. There have been, on rare occasions, Marcher Lords that tried to take rule by force. Since bypassing the ritual also bypasses releasing their full arcane potential, holding a seat by force is not feasible or possible for long durations. The High Lord The Quickening of the High Lord follows much the same rites and rituals with the main difference being that the whole of the quartz map of Estcarp is involved. Also, at the same time the High Lord is Quickened, so is his Ryndar. This is a precaution taken by Mathias to ensure there is a counterbalance to the power a High Lord wields. The Ryndar is rendered immune to being struck down by the High Lord's powers. Should a time come when he or she must do battle against the High Lord, it is done with swords, not arcanely. As a High Lord may not be Quickened while another High Lord reigns, his Quickening is attended by all the Marcher Lords as witnesses and overseen by the deceased Lord's Ryndar. If the Quickening does not respond to the High Lord and he is rejected, then another must be found. Traditionally, the heir comes from the ranks of Marcher Lords, but it is possible that a completely new Stormborn could ascend to the position. Upon her marriage and before she enters her marriage bed, the High Lady must undergo the Quickening as well. For her, the ritual seals the potential to assume the High Lord's arcane powers should he die prematurely. It also sets the potential in her for her future children. Afterward, her sense of the arcane and its nature is heightened. If she is a healer, as is traditional for the High Lady, she will notice an increased ease in the use of her healing abilities as well as a strengthening of them. It is said that the High Lord can seal Estcarp's borders by seating himself on the Throne and impaling his left hand to the arm of the throne, thus allowing his blood to flow down specially carved channels and onto the Heartstone. This is a measure of desperation and last resort and is usually fatal to the High Lord. Istseleniye The Istseleniye is another collection of bloodlines of the Stormborn. The word Istseleniye itself means healing. This bloodline also carries an innate affinity with natural magic, but for healing, not elemental manipulations. The Istseleniye have suffered a decrease and dilution of their bloodlines, producing fewer and fewer children with the healing gifts. Those that are born with the gift are highly prized as healing is one of the most noble callings in the realm of the Highlands. The Tselitel' (Healers) The word for healer is Tselitel'. This, over time, has become the colloquial term for those of the Istseleniye bloodlines that actually practice the medical arts. Even rarer than the Stormborn themselves are the Tselitel' with the true healing magic. This is due, in large part, to those of the Istseleniye (healing) bloodlines scattering to the four winds during the centuries as they sought the knowledge and skills of healcraft. The Istseleniye bloodlines diverged from the pure Stormborn as their particular affinity manifested, however, it is believed their origins are deep within the Khibiny Mountain Range as well. The Tselitel' are not magical healers. They cannot place their hands over an open wound and say Be Healed and the injured is miraculously restored to full health and vigor. They do, however, possess a deep connection and affinity for the healing arts based in nature, an almost innate knowledge of where the illness resides or how to treat an injury. The Tselitel' practice Istseleniye (healing) using a combination of holistic medicines, plant and nature based, along with a belief they can channel certain energies through touch to facilitate healing and equilibrium within the body. As stated, the Tselitel' are not magicians. An injured or ill person will still have to be treated although when practicing full Istseleniye on a patient, that patient has often stated afterward that they felt warmth or heat spreading throughout their bodies from the Tselitels' hands. The Tselitel' will never accept payment for their services. In their beliefs, this would negate their gift. Healing should be done without harm and without expecting personal gain. To survive, the Tselitel' will accept freely offered items and goods in trade. This can take the form of foodstuffs, livestock, healing herbs and plants, or even just knowledge of a local tradition of healcraft. A select few Tselitel' will attach to high born families with the understanding that their abilities must be accessible to all and they must be free to practice their gifts for any in need. Tselitel' Guild The Istseleniye are organized into a central Guild where, like the Sentinels, they also gather and store knowledge as well as being a teaching organization. Usually, a child exhibiting an affinity for healing or known to be Istseleniye will be apprenticed to a Tselitel' for training. There is a large hospital in Cymeria that serves as the Guild's central location and there are smaller healing centers throughout the Marches. Traditionally, the High Lady of Estcarp is a Tselitel' and the head of the Guild. As such, she serves on the High Council as the Guild Representative as well as in her role of High Lady of Estcarp. Timeline WORK IN PROGRESS *Footnote: Credit for some of the place names goes to Ms. Andre Norton and Ms. Katherine Kurtz. This is not meant as plagiarism of their work in any form, but as an homage to their brilliance as two of the foremost authors in the fantasy genre! Category:People